Adrian P. Bird, Ph.D. is the world's leading expert in the gene, MECP2, responsible for Rett syndrome when mutated.
In 2007, Prof. Bird heralded a major breakthrough by reversing Rett symptoms in mice thereby suggesting the same may be true for human beings.

New research from the lab of Adrian Bird, a molecular geneticist at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, reveals that abnormally high levels of a protein called Uqcrc1 in the brains of mouse models of Rett Syndrome cause mitochondria--the cells' powerhouses--to work overtime.
"This is the first time a mitochondrial gene has been linked to Rett Syndrome," says Dr Bird.
Co-author Skirmantas Kriaucionis, now at Rockefeller University in New York City, hopes the finding will lead to treatments for the disorder.
"Knowledge of specific physiological defects will, in the future, provide targets for therapeutic intervention," he adds.